: Traditional nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals hold pragmatic nature with respect to their definitions, claims, purposes and marketing strategies. Their definitions are not well established worldwide. They also have different regulatory definitions and registration regulatory processes in different parts of the world. Global prevalence of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals is noticeably high with large market share with minimal regulation compared to traditional drugs. The global market is flooded with nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals claiming to be of natural origin and sold with a therapeutic claim by major online retail stores such as Amazon and eBay. Apart from the traditional formulations, many manufacturers and researchers use novel formulation technologies in nutraceutical and cosmeceutical formulations for different reasons and objectives. Manufacturers tend to differentiate their products with novel formulations to increase market appeal and sales. On the other hand, researchers use novel strategies to enhance nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals activity and safety. : The objective of this review is to assess the current patents and research adopting novel formulation strategies in nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Patents and research papers investigating nutraceutical and cosmeceutical novel formulations were surveyed for the past 15 years. Various nanosystems and advanced biotechnology systems have been introduced to improve the therapeutic efficacy, safety and market appeal of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, including liposomes, polymeric micelles, quantum dots, nanoparticles, and dendrimers. This review provides an overview of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals current technologies, highlighting their pros, cons, misconceptions, regulatory definitions and market. This review also aims in separating the science from fiction in the nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals development, research and marketing.

Continuous manufacturing (CM) has the potential to provide pharmaceutical products with better quality, improved yield and with reduced cost and time. Moreover, ease of scale-up, small manufacturing footprint and on-line/in-line monitoring and control of the process are other merits for CM. Regulating authorities are supporting the adoption of CM by pharmaceutical manufacturers through issuing proper guidelines. However, implementation of this technology in pharmaceutical industry is encountered by a number of challenges regarding the process development and quality assurance. This article provides a background on the implementation of CM in pharmaceutical industry, literature survey of the most recent state-of-the-art technologies and critically discussing the encountered challenges and its future prospective in pharmaceutical industry.

2019) Enhancement of zaleplon oral bioavailability using optimized self-nano emulsifying drug delivery systems and its effect on sleep quality among a sample of psychiatric patients, Drug Delivery, 26:1, 1243-1253, ABSTRACTThe aim of this work is to develop self-nano emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) to enhance the oral bioavailability of zaleplon (Zal) as a poorly water-soluble drug. Moreover, the bioavailability and the effect on the quality of sleep among a sample of psychiatric patients is to be assessed. D-optimal mixture design was used for optimization. Optimized SNEDDS formulation was evaluated for droplet size, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and in-vitro dissolution test. Zal bioavailability was evaluated by determining its serum concentration and pharmacokinetic parameters in 8 patients after oral administration. Effect on sleep quality was assessed among 40 psychiatric patients. Patients' sleep quality was assessed in 40 psychiatric patients before and after medication using the Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Zal-SNEDDS appeared as nano-sized spherical vesicles. Moreover, Zal was completely dissolved from optimized formulation after 45 min indicating improved dissolution rate. Zal-SNEDDS showed significantly higher C max , T max and AUC 0!1 compared to commercial product after oral administration. Zal-SNEDDS significantly improved the total score of PSQIs (p < .001) with higher subjective sleep quality, reduced sleep latency, improved day time function and sleep disturbance (p < .001). Using sleep medication was reduced significantly (p ¼ .027). However, it did not modify sleep duration or sleep efficiency. SNEDDS have improved Zal solubility and enhanced its bioavailability. Furthermore, Zal-SNEDDS have improved the total score of PSQIs and may be considered a good choice to enhance the quality of sleep among psychiatric patients. ARTICLE HISTORY KEYWORDSZaleplon; self-nano emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS); bioavailability; poorly watersoluble drug and quality of sleep CONTACT Maha Khalifa Ahmed Khalifa

Background: Augmented reality (AR) is a technological approach which combines virtual objects such as text, pictures or videos with physical objects (real-world). The study aimed to design, implement and validate a mobile-based AR application, as a self-paced, interactive, student-centered learning tool be used in the pharmaceutical compounding laboratory course for first year pharmacy students. Method: A mobile-based AR application (Amplified Rx app; HeyPayLess Inc) compatible with iOS and android operating system was developed. A cross-over study design was conducted where alternatively, one group was subjected to ARx app implementation in 8 formulations and the other group served as control. The reception and benefits to students were assessed via a 10 questions survey. In this case, 69 (2019) and 55 (2020) students participated in the study. Result: Students’ use of ARx app was increased in 2020 which indicates its usefulness. For acceptability, leaners enjoyed interactive materials and tutorial videos were the most used and appealing item. Learners described the installation, scanning and operation to be very easy in both years. 86.95% of learners were confident conducting the experiments with the assistance of ARx app in 2019 and increased to 92.73% in 2020. 33.33% considered ARx app to be the most helpful resource in 2019, and the percent was significantly increased to 76.36% in 2020. Conclusion: AR technology implementation in pharmaceutical education could create student-centered engaging and interactive learning experience in fundamental areas such as pharmaceutical compounding laboratories.